If the dark shadows at Shiloh Hall don't scare students, perhaps the ghosts at and around Dixie State University will.
Students are said to have witnessed ghosts, and some feel jittery around certain spots on campus. Regardless of whether it’s a poltergeist or just a bit scary in the dark, DSU has its very own of both.
Areas near the on-campus housing can have an eerie effect depending on the time of day.
“There’s this part where campus meets the dorms — there’s this huge bush by it,” said Tia Matthews, a senior communication major from Las Vegas. “That’s pretty sketchy around midnight. It’s just a dark pathway right past the basketball courts.”
Jared Spencer, a senior communication major from Derby, Kansas, said the laundry rooms at both the Nisson Towers and the Shiloh Hall are places to stay away from after sunset if students want to avoid an off-putting and creepy vibe.
“The Nisson Towers laundry room — if you just go down there, it’s crazy,” Spencer said. “There’s water coming up from the ground constantly so as soon as you get to the bottom of the stairs, there’s a puddle that you have to walk around, [and] the lights flicker and make noise. The Shiloh laundry room lights flicker even worse.”
Bryant Arrizon, a sophomore art major from San Diego who runs a show on the DSU radio station, 91.3 The Storm, has been holding interviews and discussions on his show about scary stories and tales in the Dixie area.
“One of the biggest one’s that I have been getting a lot is about Rubber Feet Pete,” Arrizon said.
Arrizon said Pete is a tall, skinny man who wears torn pants, a trench coat and now shoes. He has allegedly been spotted along 1000 East by the dorms and along the east side of campus.
“Some people report him with a beard [and] some people don’t,” he said. “[He] looks like he’s a homeless guy … and I guess the reason they call him Rubber Feet Pete is because his feet are completely black, and it looks like he has rubber on his feet.”
Arrizon said he has personally seen Rubber Feet Pete outside the Jennings Communication building.
“He was right outside the [radio] station,” he said. “It was probably one in the morning. I didn’t get a good look at his face, but he fit the description.”
As far as ghosts go, the Snow Science Center is said to be haunted and home to a spooky spirit, Arrizon said.
“It’s nothing too horrible,” Arrizon said. “There’s a young lady who wanders around. Sometimes she’ll have a conversation with you and keep up with current events.”
He said the young lady ghost usually just knocks over a book or will turn off a computer at most.
Arrizon said one of his favorite tales is about Old Crow Joe, a slave who was killed near the Virgin River in the 19th century. He said people have seen his ghost walking a stretch of River Road.
“The first things you hear are moaning and chains rattling,” Arrizon said. “A flock of blackbirds grouped together means he’s coming near or is nearby.”
Arrizon likes the story because it ties into a deeper side of Dixie history but is still a great tale to tell during this time of year so close to Halloween.
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